Mommy,
can I take my Bible to school today?” Nine words that brought
both delight and concern to my heart. Delight that my
10-year-old darling would love Jesus enough to take Him to
school with her in leather-bound form. Concern because I knew
that love would breed persecution I wasn’t sure she was yet
ready to fully understand.
So I did what any good parent would do. I
said, “Of course you can take your Bible to school, Bridgette.
Remember, Jesus’ words are in red.” Then I prayed for the
prophetic youngster and sent her off to the public school system
with a homemade lunch in one hand and the Word of God in the
other. Knowing I wouldn’t be there to protect her – and not
knowing what devil she might face when she opened the good book
in the after school care program for which I shell out
considerable monthly bucks – I committed her to the Lord’s
covering and believed the best.
Do you know what happened? (This is the
cool part.) Within 15 minutes of the school bell ringing she had
assembled a small youth group that was quite intent on hearing
her declare what Jesus had to say about attitudes, money and
other issues they deal with on an every day basis. One little
boy, she later told me, was even taking notes. It was a bona
fide Bible study – and then it happened. One of the $6-an-hour
teenaged counselors barged in on the peaceful gathering,
shrieking, “Put that book away. You might offend somebody!”
Unphased by the unwelcome interruption, my
bold young daughter continued to read. Rebellious? No, the head
of the program, also a Christian, had already given her express
permission to read the Bible to her curious playmates. It was
the devil influencing the teenaged counselor who was rebelling
against authority. So my daughter continued reading…until she
had to use the restroom. When she returned, the counselor had
put her Bible away. So what did my little angel do? Of course,
she pulled it back out and kept right on reading. Hallelujah!
Bridgette didn’t truly understand what was
happening, but the Spirit of God in her saw it for what it was
and empowered her to speak the World boldly. That’s just what we
should be doing in the face of opposition to our inclusion of
Jesus in every day public life. It seems to me that far too many
people are concerned that Christians are offending co-workers,
classmates and others with the Gospel of the Kingdom while a
relative few seem concerned about offending Christians with
their secular humanism, New Age philosophies and potty mouths.
Apostolic living demands prayers for
boldness and emboldened prayers. It demands speaking and acting
boldly. Like Peter and John, people should be able to see our
boldness and marvel, knowing that we have been with Jesus (Acts
4:13). They should be able to recognize the Lion of the Tribe of
Judah in us. If you look up variants of “bold” in your handy
dandy concordance, you will quickly discover that the use of
words like “bold,” “boldly” and “boldness” in the King James
version are almost always – yes, almost always – used in
conjunction with apostolic people.
Take the Apostle Paul, for example. He
prayed that when he opened his mouth he would speak forth boldly
(Ephesians 6:19). He preached boldly at Damascus in the name of
Jesus (Acts 9:27). He spoke boldly in the name of the Lord
Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians who wanted to kill him
(Acts 9:28-29). He spoke boldly in the synagogue even though the
people spoke evil about Jesus (Acts 19:8). In fact, Paul “spake
boldly” everywhere he went. Even when he was an ambassador in
bonds he spoke boldly (Ephesians 6:20). Do you see the pattern
yet?
The righteous are as bold as a lion – and
you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Jesus expects
you to be bold for Him rather than compromising with a
compromising world. In fact, Jesus said, “Whosoever shall deny
Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in
Heaven” (Matthew 10:33). But let’s take it a few steps beyond
Christianity 101 and the confession of faith in the face of
disbelief and get back to the subject of persecution for a
moment. Don’t turn the page now or you’ll miss out on a
blessing. After all, the Bible says if you are persecuted for
righteousness’ sake you are blessed, right? (Matthew 5:10)
If you are going to pick up your cross and
follow Jesus you are going to find yourself pushing against a
wall built by religion, humanism, and spiritual wickedness in
heavenly places. If you are really going to make a difference in
this world for Jesus rather than befriending the world, then you
are going to get to experience the blessings that follow
persecution. If you are going to fulfill your destiny, folks,
you are going to have to share in Christ’s sufferings. I know
this isn’t a pleasant thought, but if all I did were write about
apostolic living as flowery bed of ease I’d have to answer to
Jesus for it on the day of reckoning.
In the years ahead I believe Christians
will see greater persecution, especially if we continue to allow
principalities and powers to invade and occupy our land through
false religions. Although I’m quite sure the suffering won’t
compare to that of our brothers and sisters in many other
nations who are beheaded for speaking the Word boldly, it may be
unsettling for some who are accustomed to the American gospel.
So why not do as the Apostle Paul did? Why
not do as the disciples in the Book of Acts did? Why not begin
praying for boldness so that we can confront the issues that
have eroded our American values? Why not gather among our own
company, lift up our voice to God with one accord and pray to
the Lord God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that
is in them? Why not call on the God in the face of the wicked of
the earth rising up and the rulers gathering together against
the Lord and His Christ? Why not pray that the Lord would grant
us boldness that we may speak His Word and that signs and
wonders may be done by the name of His holy child Jesus? (Acts
4)
I challenge you today to begin praying for
boldness. I believe then we’d see a shaking. Then we’d be
overflowing with the power of the Holy Ghost. Then we would
speak the Word boldly as we should. Take it from my 10-year-old
daughter. She continued to carry her Bible in her backpack and
defends her right to do so. Oh, out of the mouths of babes…
